In the Know: Medians likely use reclaimed water

Coming off a stretch where many parts of Southwest Florida did not see a trace of rain for many weeks, it’s not surprising that we recently received a couple of e-mails concerning irrigation. Here are questions from two area residents:

Q: Has anyone ever driven on Livingston Road during the day or evening when median sprinklers were not on and the highway was dry? I wonder if irrigation could be done during the night, and to whom this suggestion might be made. It probably would mean a great savings of water since so many vehicles would not need to be washed as frequently.

— Ann Mulvey, Naples

Q: Why does Pelican Bay use its water sprinklers in the daylight hours contrary to the county’s water restrictions? Who is responsible and accountable for this blatant violation that has been going on for years?

— Steve DeFillippo, Naples

The answers may depend on which stretches of road one is talking about and whether reclaimed (nonpotable) water is being used, as opposed to potable, or drinking, water. Other factors come into play, as well.

Without knowing the specific parts of the roads in question, both areas most likely use reclaimed water, according to Margie Hapke with the Collier County Public Utilities Division.

Reclaimed water is not subject to the county’s irrigation ordinance. Although reclaimed water does not meet drinking water standards, it does go through the sewage treatment process and provides a high-quality, less-expensive product for irrigation, Hapke said.

At more than 5 billion gallons a year, Collier County leads the state in the use of reclaimed water, Hapke said. Compare that figure with the amount of potable water used in Collier County: 9.1 billion gallons in 2005. The county has made a concentrated effort to expand its infrastructure for reclaimed water use. Hapke said it just makes good sense any time the county can use reclaimed water to take the demand off potable water.

“It’s such a unique and valuable resource for us,” she said.

Reclaimed water is a limited resource not available throughout the county, Hapke said. For instance, water and sewer service is not available in Golden Gate Estates, which relies on wells and septic tanks. County numbers also do not reflect water use by the cities of Naples or Marco Island, which have their own utility departments.

“We’re not under the same restrictions with reclaimed water as with potable water,” said Kyle Lucas, field operations manager for Pelican Bay Services.

Lucas, responsible for overseeing irrigation in Pelican Bay, said the Pelican Bay area in question may be under county jurisdiction because the community’s regular irrigation is scheduled during early morning hours, basically midnight to 8 a.m., to adhere to the county’s mandatory water restrictions.

Exceptions exist, however. The county allows watering of landscaping five days per week within the first 60 days of its planting. Hapke also said the county waters medians more during fire season, which recently ended, to prevent damage from a lit cigarette thrown out the window by a passing motorist.

Hapke points out that it’s not a good horticultural practice to water landscaping during the daytime. She said water can act as a magnifying glass and burn grass or plants. Couple that with rapid evaporation from the intense heat, and one can see why the county mandates general watering only 12:01 a.m. to 8 a.m. More is accomplished with less water during early morning hours.

The Daily News publishes mandatory water restrictions for unincorporated Collier and Lee counties, Naples, Marco and Bonita Springs every day on its weather page, the back page of this section. For a complete list of regional water restrictions, see www.sfwmd.gov.

Get lost

Keeping with the water theme, make plans to get wet at the new 212-acre North Collier Regional Park and its unique pools, water slides, lazy river and other attractions, which is expected to open today at 4 p.m. The new park, on the east side of Livingston Road between Immokalee and Vanderbilt Beach roads, is a splashy addition to an already excellent county park system. Signs on Livingston make the park easy to find.

Collier residents have free access to the pool today from 4 to 7 p.m. Normally, admission to the water attraction is $5.50 for children shorter than 4 feet tall and $10 for anyone taller.

Entry to the park itself is free, though, so stop by to check out your tax dollars at work. If you don’t want to get wet, the park also features an elevated boardwalk through a wetlands preserve, a 2½-mile walking trail, a gymnasium, a fitness center, a playground, and softball and soccer fields.

For more information on the new park, see the story and graphic in today’s Local section of the Daily News, and take a virtual tour of the park’s Sun-N-Fun Lagoon at naplesnews.com.

By the way, the Livingston Road median sprinklers were not on Tuesday during an early afternoon drive-through visit of the park, but the well-irrigated landscaping along at least a 10-mile stretch of the road was impressive.

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Tim Aten is news editor of the Daily News. E-mail “In The Know“ questions to intheknow@naplesnews.com, or call 213-6007.